AND UTTERANCES OF NATIONAL ORGANS. 153 



about the Constitution of the United States-^^ Following practice, 

 the answer seems to depend upon whether the alleged want of 

 competence arises (i) from a lack of original authority or (2) from 

 operation of obscure constitutional limitations. 



Foreign nations are supposed to know what organs the Constitu- 

 tion designates for concluding various types of international agree- 

 ments. Thus they are supposed to know that in England power to 

 make treaties is vested in the Crown in Council,*" that in France : ^° 



" The President of the Republic shall negotiate and ratify treaties. 

 Treaties of peace and of commerce, treaties which involve the finances or 

 the state, those relating to the person and property of French citizens in 

 foreign countries, shall be ratified only after having been voted by the 

 two chambers." 



That in the United States. "The President shall have power, by 

 and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, 

 provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur." ^^ Until these 

 organs have authorized ratification, foreign nations can not hold 

 the nation bound even though the authority conducting negotiations 

 neglected to inform them or informed them erroneously as to the 

 organs with constitutional competence. However, all agreements 

 are not treaties. Certain military agreements, such as armistices, 

 are usually within the inherent power of the Commander-in-Chief 

 Others such as protocols and agreements of temporary effect are 

 within the inherent power of the representative organ. ^^ The Pres- 

 ident has often concluded such agreements, notably the preliminaries 

 of peace to end the Spanish and World Wars. If he permits the 

 other nation to understand that such action is within his constitutional 

 authority, is the United States bound, even though the Senate sub- 

 sequently take a contrary view? Opinions have differed in the 

 United States^^ but foreign nations have actually held the United 



48 Supra, sec. 13. 



49 Anson, op. cit., vol. 2, pt. i, p. 54; pt. 2, p. 108. 



50 Constitutional Law of July 16, 1875, art. 8. 



51 Const. Art. II, sec. 2. 



52 Crandall, op. cit., p. 11 r; Willoughby, op. cit., i: 200-202, infra, 

 sees. 161-172. 



53 President Wilson took the position that the agreement of Nov. 5, 

 1918, and earlier exchanges of notes, upon the basis of which the armistice 

 of November 11, 1918, was concluded with Germany, rendered ratification of 

 a treaty in accordance with those terms obligatory upon the United States. 



